Not that bad
by Beren's-Wife
Summary: A missing scene from OotP with Remus Lupin! Please read and review!


A/N: Remember when Molly Weasley was scolding Arthur in OotP? Remus walked over to the guy who had been bitten by a Werewolf. Did you ever wonder what they talked about?  
  
Please read and review!!!  
  
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling!  
  
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Not that bad  
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I rolled his eyes. Molly was furious and that didn't mean anything good. Arthur had tried to heal his wound the way Muggles do, but of course he hadn't succeeded, unfortunately his wife had found out and she was more than just unhappy about it.   
  
Slowly I went over to the bed of a young man who hadn't any visitors, even though it was Christmas. Maybe he would enjoy a little chat and it would distract both of us from all the yelling. I smile as I hear Fred, George and Bill excusing themselves, saying that they wanted to get a tea. It didn't take long until Harry and the others followed as well. Who could blame them? Molly's voice was shrill and very, very loud now.   
  
Why must Werewolves have such a sensitive hearing?   
  
I arrived at the bed and smiled down at the man. He had short, blond hair and there were circles under his blue eyes. He looked tired and sad. Immediatly I wondered what had happened to him to make him so miserable. He also flinched at the yelling behind me, I didn't really concentrated on what she said, all I knew that the last thing I wanted was being in Arthur's place right now.   
  
"Good afternoon. My name is Remus Lupin," I said to the man who was looking up at me now.   
  
"John Morgan." His voice was heavy and his gaze wandered back to Molly and Arthur.   
  
My smile returned. "Don't worry, that's quite normal. She's a little hot-tempered sometimes. But a nice woman, really. Try to ignore it. It will stop as abruptly as it started." As her voice became shrill again I sigh a little. "Sooner or later."  
  
He smiled a little at my words. Well, that was a start. I sat down on the chair next to him and tried again to begin a conversation. "And why are you here?"  
  
This had been obviously the wrong thing to say. The smile on his pale lips faded and he started to stare at the ceiling once more. "I don't think you would talk to me any longer if I told you." His voice was only a whisper.   
  
I frowned a little. What had happened to this man which tortured him so much? Why did he think that I wouldn't talk to him anymore if I knew? "Try," I finally said in order to encourage him.  
  
He looked at me for a long moment, stared into my eyes, then his gaze dropped as if he was ashamed of something.   
  
"STOP MAKING EXCUSES, ARTHUR WEASLEY!!!"   
  
I rolled my eyes. Would this never stop? Then I turned back to the stranger who still didn't look up.   
  
Finally he decided to speak. "I... I was bitten by a Werewolf."  
  
For what seemed like hours both of us were silent.   
  
So that was why he had been so ashamed and scared. That was why he hadn't been able to sleep. That was why he was scared to tell others. Well, I could understand him.  
  
I had been only six years when it had happened to me, but I still remember everything so vividly.   
  
***** FLASHBACK *****  
  
My mother sat on my bed, gently holding my hand, my father stood next to her. I still felt exhaust and a little dizzy. And I didn't understand it.   
  
After all I had only gone ouside to feed the big dog in our garden. My parents had been in the living room, I had wanted to get something to drink from the kitchen. There I had seen it. Black and beautiful as it was, its golden eyes shining like the moon. So I had taken a little of the chicken which had been left from dinner and went out. I had known that my mother would be mad, after all she had intended to warm it up the day after, but the poor dog was surely hungry. He had stared at me for a moment and I had smiled. Never before had I seen anything as beautiful as this animal. Suddenly it had started running towards me and then - pain. Pain running through my whole body, I remember screaming for my Mummy and Daddy, and then I heard my father saying a spell, the big dog had been gone and my mother had been at my side, holding me tight. My leg had hurt terribly and I had cried all the time on the way to St. Mungo's hospital.  
  
Now I was feeling better, but why had Mummy still tears in her eyes and why was Daddy looking so worried? I had been afraid to ask them, even a six year old child could feel that something was very, very wrong and I remember that somehow I didn't even want to know.  
  
A healer entered the room and my mother immediatly held my hand tighter. My father's lips became a thin line.   
  
Then the healer spoke. "I'm sorry, but you were right. It was a werewolf." Mum broke out in tears, my father bowed his head. I was still too young to understand the full meaning of those words but my parents' reaction was enough to make me cry as well. Immediatly I found myself in my mother's embrace, she tried to sooth me, told me that everything would be alright. Dad stroke my hair and again I heard the healer's words. "Your son will be able to have a mostly normal life. You really shouldn't worry too much."   
  
But of course they did. For the first few days it was simply a disaster.  
  
***** END FLASHBACK *****  
  
Morgan looked at me again and smiled sadly. "See? I told you so. I can understand that you are disgusted now. You can go, I won't blame you."  
  
Immediatly I stopped thinking about what had happened years ago and returned to the presence. "Why should I go?" I asked and smiled gently. "I'm not disgusted, if I was I would be disgusted by myself as well."  
  
He looked at me in shock. "You... you are a Werewolf, too?"   
  
I simply nodded. "Since I was a child."  
  
We fell silent again. Then John looked at the Weasleys. Molly had fallen silent a few minutes ago and now she just stared angrily at her husband, which was probably just as bad as the yelling, and Arthur looked pretty sheepish. Then John spoke again, in a very soft voice now. "Arthur told me that he had a friend who's a Werewolf and I didn't believe him. I thought that he only wanted me to feel better."  
  
Weasley took the chance to escape his wife's piercing gaze. "Of course it's true. And Remus gets along with that pretty well, don't you?"  
  
I smiled. Yes, I could handle now. Well, as good as one can with Umbridge's great law against Werewolves. But of course that's not what I said. "Yes, it's not as hard as you may think right now." And that's not even a lie. First it had seemed like the worst thing in the world, then I had learned to deal with it. With my parents' and later with James' and Sirius' help. Of course Peter had been a part of it, too, but I hate to think about that now.  
  
"But... what about a job. I was fired already! A Werewolf hardly gets a new job, right?" He looked at me pleadingly, as if waiting for me to reassure him, to tell him that this wasn't true at all and for a moment I felt bitterness rising inside of me. No, I couldn't tell him that everything would be alright, because it wouldn't. I had been searching for a job since I had left Hogwarts. Nobody wanted a Werewolf, nobody.   
  
Of course I couldn't tell him that and again I smiled, but this time it was a little sad. "It's harder for a Werewolf to get a job, that's true. But it's not impossible." Again it wasn't a lie. Umbridge's law didn't say that a Werewolf wasn't allowed to work at all - it was close to that, though.  
  
John smiled at me gratefully. "Thanks."  
  
I nodded and then Molly stood up. "We should fetch the children and return home."   
  
"You're right." I stood up as well. The Weasleys kissed goodbye and I turned to John once more. "Don't give up", I whisper. "If you ever need help just owl me."  
  
He grinned a little. "Be careful, I will hold you to that."  
  
"Please do. Bye and - Merry Christmas."  
  
He nodded gratefully and I left together with Molly, hoping that he would get used to this new situation.  
  
End 


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